Personal Reflections

What I Learned

Unit 1

Knowing and reading more about anatomy and physiology made me realize how little I know about the human body. For years, I did not care much about how I produce my voice or how I hear sounds. For me, as long as I can speak and hear, then I’m fine with that. However, after reading these topics, I became more interested in learning more about hearing and speaking.

After reading the first unit, I had three main takeaways.

First, I learned that I should always go back to the basics. Anatomical positions are the foundation of everything related to anatomy and physiology. Like what I mentioned in the previous pages, regardless of how much a professional thinks he knows, there is still a possibility of making errors on supposedly simple matters. Thus, it is significant to have a solid foundation on the anatomical positions to avoid performing erroneous procedures on patients. If ever a professional makes a wrong diagnosis or treatment plan just because of pointing a wrong direction of the body, the patient would suffer and pay for that mistake. Thus, as future healthcare professionals, we should always be alert on everything that we do, even in simply dealing with anatomical positions.

Second, I learned that speech processes are so complex. As mentioned earlier, I was kind of apathetic towards learning about how body systems work. I had a mindset that “if it’s not broken, then why should I care?” However, learning more about these speech processes made me realize how complex it is to simply produce or receive sound. Thus, I should pay more attention to it from now on.

Third, I learned that I should use consistent terminologies in studying anatomy and later on, in giving diagnoses. As mentioned on the page about terms of motion, consistent terminology creates precise diagnosis and less ambiguous interpretation of any tests that will be administered. I realized that as early as now (while I am in college), I should make it a habit to use the proper terms at all times.

The aforementioned learnings are just a few of the wide array of realizations that I have gathered during this chapter. I am also sure that while learning anatomy and physiology, I would encounter a mixture of anatomical or scientific and practical, or emotional life lessons. Thus, I cannot wait to learn more!